AC Problem

[Kulbiker]

Hi,
Just noticed this yesterday that my A/C seemed to have a mind of its own. It would turn on anytime "it wanted" and turn off anytime. When it was really hot here.....the A/C would be off....if i turn the A/C button off and keep the blower on cold then i get cold air through the vents. The moment i turn on the A/C....boom ...no more cold air. I am thinking blower? Resistor?......anyideas and how much would that empty my wallet by? I of course mean if i take it to a shop not do it by myself.

Thanks

[441tech]

Are you running the Auto temp feature when it blows cold air?

[325isBaby]

if there is air coming out of the vents then it's not a blower problem, if the blower speed stays constant (when not in auto mode of course) then its probably not a resistor problem...Agree with stated above, what setting are u using? If you manually turn on the A/C and it blows room temp to warm air you may need to have the system recharged...I don't know what to quote you maybe someone would have a better idea or call around to get prices.

[Kulbiker]

Okay so here is the complete problem.

If i have the climate control on AUTO and keep the dial (between the blower vents) on extreme clod or hot.....i can feel cold/hot air come out but not really blowing hard even when the AUTO settings show the fan speed to be high. Yet cold/hot air does come out of the vents (not A/C cold but cold). Now When I turn on the A/C button everything stops.....no cold air-no hot air- nothing. Again when I turn the A/C off....cold air starts to come out of the vents but very softly and I cannot manually change the fan speed AT ALL. I have no manual control over the fan speed. So I did a search of the forums and I think this problem is pretty unique...but dont you think its the resistor? If not the blowerr then what else could be the problem?

ADDITIONALLY once in a blue moon the A/C does work (like out of the blue) and cooled well....but after a few seconds cuts out suddenly. So I doubt that it needs to be recharged.

Any ideas zibby? anybody.....i am going to the shop this week.....would love to have some ideas before i give myself to the wolves.:lol:

[Teh Prof]

Well E36's do have an annoying tendency to have their climate controls die. There's a guy on ebay that fixes them, search for "e36 climate control." He'd at least be a good place to start with questions even if you don't have him repair it.

[Kulbiker]

Actually this is an e46.....does that matter....??

[325isBaby]

you should post in the correct section...E36 questions should be thrown to the E36 forum guys

[Kulbiker]

Just an update for anyone wondering on this problem.....my A/C all of sudden three days back is back to working like a breeze ("pun intended"). Like nuthing had happened. I talked to my designated mechanic and he thought that my end stage unit was about to conck off. Yet he said if its working now dont fix it....but he feels its gonna go anytime and I am keeping my fingers crossed it doesnt happen till later this year...i need the dough to upgrade my damn car. Wish me luck.....

[storme]

it gives you chance to find it on ebay!!!

[aheath]

http://www.bmw-repair.com

Here's a link I came across. I haven't used it, but I will be sending in my unit in a week or two.

Has anyone used or heard about this?

[paco1076]

Sweet link... I just gave Eddie a call and he is very helpful. I will let everyone know how this pans out.

[paco1076]

Richard's Web Site

Here is the site that has this repair for this repair for all of the DIYs...

[paco1076]

Just got my climate control unit back from "eddie" and it works great! He did an excellent job, can't even tell he had opened the unit. For anyone that doesn't want to DIY, give him a call.

[bimmerfreak87]

i had a similar problem... not the exact same but i believe it was my thermostat. if i remember correctly. make sure that is working correctly before you invest in a really expensive repair... thermostat repairs are not to bad in price